This year is the best yet for my indoor seed-starting operation. Rather than the end of December, I held off until February to start anything. Waiting made a big difference.

On Groundhog’s Day, I started Gloriosa daisy–a double variety of Black-eyed Susan. Seedlings appeared a few days later and stayed under lights until big enough to harden off in the cold frame. On Saint Patrick’s Day, I planted the allegedly deer-resistant plants in the front yard.

Around Valentine’s Day, round two went under lights–Wave petunias, snapdragons, lisianthus, and two kinds of tomatoes. Even with daily watering, keeping the soil damp has been a challenge. The humidity has been low, the lights put off a lot of heat, and I use a heat mat to aid germination.

All ten Wave petunia seeds came up. They’ve done great and are currently hardening off in the cold frame. I’ve grown them several times and always end up planting them too early because I ran out of space. Not this year.

This is my first attempt at growing snapdragons from seed. They came up quickly, have done well, and are also in the cold frame. I may start more in July for planting this fall.

The tomatoes came up and quickly needed to be moved to larger pots. Next year, I’ll hold off another week or two to start the seed. They grew too tall to stay under lights and have been in the cold frame for several weeks. The forecast looks good so they’ll like get planted this week.

I couldn’t tell if any lisianthus sprouted until this week. They’re tiny when they come up. I kept watering and was happy to see several little seedlings. They’re still inside under lights.

The first weekend in March (my birthday, since holidays seem to be a thing here), I started night-blooming tobacco and evening-scented stock. I’ve grown both before, in Kentucky many moons ago. Both came up nicely and are doing well.

The tobacco (sylvestris) looks a lot like Burley tobacco. Fragrant little white trumpets hang from a three-foot tall central stem. If I got the right thing, the stock will be small, unnoticeable plants with little pink flowers that emit a powerful fragrance at night.

On saint Patrick’s Day, I planted marigolds (two varieties) and zinnias (two varieties). Sophia is a new-to-me French marigold. The taller of the two marigolds is a new African variety with blooms in different shades of yellow.

Tall zinnias are a mainstay. A new zinnia–Color Crackle–looked interesting in the catalog. All the marigolds and zinnias just came up and will stay indoors for another week or two.

That’s it for the indoor setup until late summer. The last ten varieties for spring/summer will be started in the next week or so in the cold frame, on the patio, or direct-sown in the garden. I’d direct-sow everything but some spots dry out too fast.

Frost is still possible, but less likely with each passing day. I made it to planting time without running out of room. All the seedlings are in great shape and, as soil temperatures rise, are likely to take off.

I’ll keep you posted and hope to have flower pics for all-of-the-above to share later this year. As always, thanks for stopping by.